In 1970 Jake Burton (on the left) was in high school. When he began a series of experiments on early snowboards (which were wood or plastic). He borrowed flexible plastic called p-tex from skiing. He applied to the bottom of wooden decks. Part of the problem with early snowboards was speed. Wood snowboards went to slow and plastice snowboards went to fast. The p-tex he applied to the wooden decks made the boards go fast but controllable because their was metal on the edges of the snowboards that made it easy to stop.

            Later Jake Burton created his own company called BURTON (symbol on the left) the make really good snowboards, boots, bindings, and clothing. The price range for a new snowboard from them are between $350-$500.

           Snowboarding is a combination OF SURFING, SKIING, AND SKATING boarding. Before snowboarding became popular kids stood on sleds and imitated surfers. early snowboards were sanded wood planks held to the riders feet with nothing or ropes. attempts to snowboard date back to the 1920's

The growing popularity of the sport is reflected by the history of snowboarding as an official sport. In 1985 the first world cup was held in Zürs, Austria. Due to the need for universal contest regulations, the ISA (International Snowboard Association) was founded in 1994. Later,